Unlock the Door of Wisdom Through the Miracle Called, “Repetition”
“We are what we repeatedly do.” — Aristotle
“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.” — Zig Ziglar
Namaste, My Brothers and Sisters!
Today, I want to share with you the magic of something simple yet exceedingly powerful in life: ‘repetition’.
Repetition is the apparently simple practice that the Cambridge Dictionary defines as “the act of doing or saying something again and again.”
In reality, however, repetition is a magical tool that can help us reinforce positive habits, rewire our thought patterns, and internalize wisdom.
I have come to slowly realize what a transformative power lies within this tool, thanks to the inspired influence of a remarkable man, Bob Proctor.
So, I would like to begin this essay on a note of my gratitude to Bob.
Section I. The Tale of a Remarkable Man
“One can ascend to a higher development only by bringing rhythm and repetition into one’s life.” — Rudolf Steiner
I would like to offer my heartfelt gratitude to Bob Proctor (1934–2022), the world-renowned speaker, coach, author, and prosperity teacher.
He built an international reputation for helping innumerable people all over the globe tap into their potential and attain their due greatness in life.
Born in Ontario, Canada, Bob’s early life was, however, anything but inspiring. He was a below-average school dropout who struggled to find even an ordinary job. Plus, he was totally unclear on the direction of his future life.
Then, everything changed on a fateful day in 1960 when his true potential got the proverbial opportunity to start flowering.
It all began when a 26-year-old Bob got a chance to read ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill, a copy of which was gifted to him by a well-wisher.
After finishing it once, he found this bestseller so absorbing that he read it repeatedly. He also made it a point to repeatedly listen to a condensed recording of this book thousands of times.
Such repeated exposure to the wisdom of this great book became the turning point of Bob’s life. From this point onward, Bob’s career took off towards an extraordinarily upward spiral and never looked back.
First, he started his own company, offering office cleaning services and its business soon flourished.
Then he joined the Nightingale-Conant organization. There he got the rare opportunity to directly learn about ‘personal development’ from Earl Nightingale, the legendary self-help expert and a protégé of Napoleon Hill.
After thorough mentoring by Earl, Bob came to form his own seminar company in the early 1970s in this field.
Through his diligent effort to spread worldwide the message of tapping into the hidden potential of self, he became a globally renowned coach, motivational speaker and a self-made millionaire in his own right.
(Sources: https://thelawofattraction.com, https://topresultsacademy.com)
I first came across this remarkable man when I read the book, “The Secret” which contains many quotes by Bob and later watched his motivational videos on YouTube.
Among the many valuable insights he gave us for creating a successful life, ‘repetition’ stood out as the most powerful to me.
One particular lesson he shared opened my eyes to the compounding power of this practice.
That was his life-long habit of reading ‘Think and Grow Rich’ every single day of his life for over 60 years at a stretch!
I came to learn that he began this daily practice when he was in his 20s and continued till the very end of his life when he was in his 80s.
As he vividly demonstrated in his videos, the pages of his book had gotten tattered…the binding had come loose…yet he continued his reading zeal of “Think and Grow Rich” with the same gusto every day of his life for over six decades!
The way he related it left me deeply moved!
This brings me to the next section where I relate how I stumbled upon this invaluable lesson in my own way.
Section II. A Night of Personal Revelation
Repetition is the reality and the seriousness of life. — Soren Kierkegaard
Recently, I myself experienced a wonderful revelation regarding the power of repetition.
It happened this way. It was one restless night when sleep kept eluding me. After tossing and turning for a prolonged duration, I decided enough was enough, and decided to get up from my bed.
It must have been around 1 a.m. or so. I then casually picked up a book lying on a table nearby.
The book happened to be ‘The Power of Subconscious Mind’ by Dr Joseph Murphy, one of my favourites. It was a book that I had already devoured from cover to cover multiple times since its purchase.
But in those early hours of that morning, something remarkable happened as I casually opened its second chapter and delved into it!
To my astonishment, as I began to read certain passages in that chapter, the words (which I had already read multiple times in the past) started taking on a whole new meaning!
They began to suddenly resonate, producing fresh insights, never thought of earlier!
Suddenly, my mind began to make new connections in the utter stillness of inky darkness…It was quite a moving experience for me!
I closed the book, kept it down and sat thinking for a while. Soon after, the bliss of sleep graced me and I went into a peaceful slumber.
The next day, in a more awakened state of mind, as I slowly went over my experience, I felt amazed at the novelty of my insights.
I further realized that, by focusing on these specific passages in my subsequent readings, I could probably unlock even newer interpretations in the future.
It was a transformative experience!
Sharing contours of this insight forms the subject of the next section and the crux of this essay.
Section III. The Tremendous Power of Repetition
“I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times.” — Bruce Lee
Normally, we choose a book on self-development for purchase after a lot of deliberation. We check online and we check with others as well. This makes sense because a book can change lives.
Sadly, after purchase, we don’t do justice to our choice.
We open the cover and just rush through the book. We keep turning the pages. We go on reading the text superficially.
The reason is our anxiety lest we should miss out on anything important.
And then we go and buy the next self-help book.
However, based on my experience complemented by the teachings of Bob Proctor, I am proposing a new approach now.
In my humble opinion, we shall derive infinitesimally greater benefit if we change our approach.
Let us intentionally pause our reading as soon as we encounter a passage in the book that tugs at our heartstrings…a passage that resonates within us…a passage that makes us stop reading and close our eyes for a few moments…a passage that makes us look up from the book and say to ourselves, “Aha..!”
Let us then choose to halt and read the words of that passage repeatedly twice…thrice…ten times…as many times as we can in one go till we begin absorbing the wisdom within.
And, instead of reading any further, let us close the book there itself. Repeat, let us not read even one sentence more.
Let us keep the book down immediately.
And let us not lay our hand on any other self-help book for the foreseeable future.
Yes!
I am now asking you to do something novel, isn’t it?
The best result will come if we keep our chosen book in a highly visible place like our office desk/dining table and have the chosen passage bookmarked.
Each time we see the book, we can come back to that particular passage and give it a quick glance.
And we can compound the benefit many times over by quickly scribbling down a few bullet points of our thoughts each time we do so.
The frequency of this revisit will be up to us.
The more, the better.
As a role model, we may choose to follow the golden example of Bob Proctor.
He used to always carry a copy of ‘Think and Grow Rich’ during his official travels all over the globe. He was a globe-trotter in the literal sense.
Thus, irrespective of where he was, he could read its marked passages every single day of his long life.
Rest assured, each time we follow this golden example, we will gain fresh insights.
Slowly, such wisdom will start getting wired deeply into our minds. Our brains will thereby get uplifted in a slow but sure manner!
And, thus, we will truly meet the very purpose of a book on self-development: — permanently changing us for the better from within.
Section IV. My Earnest Request
“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes.
My dear brothers and sisters, I would like to conclude my essay with a passionate request.
Let us deliberately embrace the magic of repetition. It is exceptionally powerful…!!
Let us read, re-read and again read the selected passage in our chosen book (only one book) of self-development book umpteen times, maybe daily, all through the rest of our lives.
Let us jot our thoughts each time we do so.
Let us bring into operation the extraordinary potency of repetition to displace long-held, unhelpful thought patterns from our minds.
Let us unlock the magic of repetition to create newer, more positive and hence, much more uplifting thought patterns.
Result?
The result is our getting propelled in the direction of greatness for “as a man thinketh, so he is.”
So, let us embark on this magical journey towards growth and development from today itself.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts.
With Blessings of Joy,
The Uplifting Essayist
A Gentle Call to Action:
Pick up your favourite book on self-development and identify one passage in it that you strongly resonate with.
Thereafter, just before bedtime, make it a practice to read the passage, reflecting on its meaning as you do so.
Lie down to sleep, next.
Your subconscious will reveal newer insights to you the next morning.
Do this for one month.
In the end, you will see how immensely you’ll benefit from this one single step!
Thank you.
